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Name
of Race: D33 – Deeside Way Ultra
Marathon
Location:
Aberdeen
Distance: 33
miles
Month Held:
March
Number of
Participants: 180
Website:
Deeside Way Ultra
Information:
Part of
the Montane Scottish Ultra Marathon Series of nine independently organised
Scottish Ultra Marathons that form a season-long championship. :
Series Website
The
33-mile route goes out and back along the Deeside Way, starting and
finishing in Aberdeen’s Duthie Park.
The Route (Details from
the organisers website)
The easily usable footpath
section is from the Duthie Park, Aberdeen to Peterculter with two breaks
across quiet country roads and a larger one at the busy Milltimber Brae. It
then breaks again for around a mile along Coalford Croft (there is some
signposting to help guide you), until it picks up the route again and there
is a narrow path to Drumoak. You then travel up to the North Deeside Road
where it picks up further along and it opens out into a wide path until it
reaches Crathes where you must go around and back onto the A957 and there is
a small road onto the path once more. This leads on into Banchory on a
smooth and easy path.
It has a short section on minor roads and crosses some major roads. The
section alongside the reinstated railway at Milton of Crathes is relatively
rough (no dust finish yet) and the section west of that to the outskirts of
Banchory is a bit muddy.
I would suggest that about 60% of the path is finished tarmac but a lot of
it has mud, leaves etc on it because you're alongside the river and amongst
the trees etc it feels like a trail run but on a good surface.
The route will be enjoyed by both road and trail runners.
If it's dry road shoes will be fine, but parts of the route can be very wet
and muddy if heavy rain so watch the weather and keep your options open.
The Run
The route is flat (in an
undulating sort of way) with no major hills and no annoying steps to climb
(as in Clyde Stride and to a lesser extent the River Ayr Challenge). It is
not the most scenic route but you may catch a glimpse of the River Dee if
you are lucky. There is water at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 checkpoints. At halfway
point there is a great selection of goodies including jam sandwiches (jeely
pieces if you are Scottish) and pancakes. The run is well organised and well
signposted so no chance of ending up in Edinburgh. Marshalls all friendly,
encouraging and helpful.
Despite the organiser's t-shirt
declaration "Overtake the weak - vault the dead" this is a very friendly
race. I ran it in 2011 and, not having trained properly, struggled over the
last 10k. The great encouragement and chat I got from other runners
certainly help me on my way to the finish line. Thanks all!!
Crossing the finish line the
organiser, George Reid, shook me by the hand and congratulated me - a
wonderful personal touch. A bottle of beer labelled "Well Done - Happy Days"
and the best medal ever (see below) made the painful 33 miles seem all
worthwhile.
So in summary - get
yourself entered for the next race!
Deeside
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